I lined up an old map with a current one and found where a village vanished. What's your best trick for digging into local history? | History Mysteries - Topic Shares
Actually, that map trick is neat but it only shows you where something was. The real story is in the people. Old newspapers on microfilm at the library are way better for that. You find out why a place vanished, like a mill closing or a road getting moved. Those census names just sit there, but a news story tells you what actually happened.